Rants & Raves

RANT: To the individual(s) responsible for stealing money from the bank accounts at Bank of North Georgia: You’ve done nothing but cause a lot of pain and suffering for others. Pray law enforcement finds you first. You will be caught. And we will run your mugshot.

RAVE: To all the participants in the local Relay for Life, which broke all sorts of records. Approximately 4,000 people participated with 111 teams, the most ever. So far the event has raised about $246,000. Last year saw $275,000 collected, but this year’s fundraiser goes through Aug. 31. If you haven’t contributed, please do so. Time to kick cancer down, and then kick it again.

RAVE: To those helping out with donations, prayers and support after the tragic fire that took five lives, including four young children: Despite the horrific circumstances, this community continues to step up when needed.

RANT: No one really knows how this all transpired, except the judge who made the ruling. But when a man pleads guilty to child molestation and is sentenced to 20-years probation, something doesn’t pass the smell test. This is more so when prosecutors were pushing for mandatory prison time.

RAVE: And a lob to The Heritage School’s boys tennis team, which won the GISA state tennis title in the Class AAA championship.

RAVE: To the friends and supporters of the annual Public Safety Appreciation luncheon held at the Coweta County Fairgrounds: It’s a small way for us to show our appreciation for the incredible work all those in public safety do for us, day in and day out.

RAVE: Grantville is actually moving forward on its water park. Something that has seen as much movement forward and backward as, well, waves in a water park. Let’s get splashing.

RAVE: Gov. Nathan Deal has signed the “juvenile justice reform” bill. “We finally figured out that throwing kids in jail for minor offenses does nothing to rehabilitate them and, in fact, does a great deal of harm to both them and the community in which they live,” said Coweta County Juvenile Court Judge Joe Wyant. We agree.

RAVE: Main Street Newnan was designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting requirements set by the National Main Street Center, part of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. We love our downtown.

RANT: Yet another meth dealer doesn’t get it. Three people were arrested by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators confiscated about 2 grams of meth, marijuana and 13 weapons. Yeah, meth and guns mix well.

RAVE: Newnan High School recently received a silver medal national ranking in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best of 2013 High Schools report. That ranks NHS in the top 8 percent of the nation’s public, charter and magnet schools. Great work!

RAVE: Big shoutout to Georgia’s senators for joining the battle to get President Obama to increase funding to deepen the Savannah port. The port plays an important role for Coweta County businesses and industries. And, yes, we just “RAVED” politicians.

RAVE: And now to the government employee side. Our own Coweta County administrator Theron Gay was named the 2013 Jerry R. Griffin Excellence in Public Service Award. Basically, he’s awesome in the public service field.

RANT/RAVE: We’re not sure which. A retirement bash was held for Earlene Strickland Scott; Miss Scott to most of us. One of the last of the independent bookstore owners, for some reason she thought 36 years was long enough. The party was, as Mayor Keith Brady said, “a bittersweet time.”